BBA 2024 Winner Profile: Company of the Year – FGS Global

FGS Global, a strategic communications consultancy, has been crowned Company of the Year at the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan’s headline event, the British Business Awards. The firm picked up the hotly contested trophy for demonstrating excellence and innovation while garnering outstanding achievements in the past 12 months.

FGS Global supports companies to succeed in critical moments, both in Japan and abroad. Whether it is M&A or activism defence, a corporate crisis or the entry into new markets, FGS Global has an unrivalled track record helping its clients lead, influence and win when it really matters – be it with investors, employees, customers, government officials, regulators, advocacy groups or the general public.

“What, how, when and to whom you communicate can mean the difference between success and failure,” explained Deborah Hayden, partner at FGS Global.

The support available is diverse, from strategic counsel to hands on execution, underpinned by a myriad of tools including capabilities in digital, data and creative, as well as presentation and media coaching.

“It’s important to have a narrative that resonates with various stakeholders and addresses the different expectations and interests of these audiences,” added Samuel Brustad, director at FGS Global.

“We help companies tell their stories in ways that resonate, because at the end of the day, people remember stories,” said Hayden.

Renowned reputation

FGS Global is a global communications and public affairs consultancy, with approximately 1,400 professionals around the world, advising clients in navigating complex stakeholder situations and reputational challenges. It was formed from the combination of Finsbury, The Glover Park Group, Hering Schuppener and Sard Verbinnen & Co to offer board-level and C-suite counsel in all aspects of strategic communications, including corporate reputation, crisis management and public affairs. The firm is also a leading force in financial communications worldwide.

FGS Global has been awarded numerous accolades in recent years. It was named No. 1 communications advisor for M&A deals in Japan, across APAC and globally in H1 2024 and in 2023 by Mergermarket. Chambers and Partners placed the firm in the highest Band 1 ranking in 2024 for Crisis & Risk Management, Litigation PR & Communications and PR & Communications: Public Affairs categories, for the third year in a row. In March 2024, FGS Global placed first in both the Best Crisis Management and Best Overall PR Firm categories in the National Law Journal’s Best of 2024 awards, the third time to claim the top spot in each category.

Rapid progress

Since launching in Tokyo in 2016, FGS Global’s operations in Japan have grown significantly, quintupling the revenues since 2019, when the current local management team joined.

In the past 12 months, the firm has advised on some of the most significant deals in Japan, which are fundamentally reshaping the country’s M&A landscape. It has also consulted for Japanese and international firms on the increasingly challenging geopolitical landscape and how the associated risks and opportunities might affect stakeholder relationships.

“We’re in a time of flux, almost on a daily basis. Companies and CEOs cannot sit idly by, their audiences demand them to take positions and to communicate. We help companies to digest the enormous volume of public information, and advise them on how to navigate the tightrope they are on between their customers and business operations in different countries. Then we construct messaging that supports their strategy and addresses stakeholders in every market,” said Hayden.

Growing sustainably, supporting community

As FGS grows, it is hiring bilingual young talent and seasoned advisors, from Japan and abroad. Employees in the firm’s Tokyo office hail from Japan, Europe, America, Africa and Oceania and are from different age groups.

“It’s important to have different points of view represented. Through robust discussions, we can have collisions of thought. And it is from those collisions that new ideas are born,” said Hayden of the firm’s need for diversity in order to best serve its clients.

“Diversity of thought ultimately drives everything we do for our clients because we need to give them the outside perspective that they can’t get internally,” added Brustad.

“We’re always looking for curious people who are smart thinkers, good writers and are very aware of the interconnectedness of the economy, politics and what’s happening in the world, like journalists, lawyers and analysts,” he added.

To find new talent while providing a boost to Japan’s communications ecosystem, members of the firm give lectures at academic institutions, such as Aoyama Gakuin University, to encourage students to showcase the importance of communications.

“Many people aren’t aware that our industry even exists, let along imagine careers with us. We have to show people, particularly in Japan, that the work we’re doing can lead to a fulfilling career,” said Hayden.

FGS Global also provides pro-bono communications support to TELL, a not-for-profit organisation that provides support and counselling services to Japan’s international community.

In addition, the firm encourages its staff to support CSR initiatives, both on a collective and individual basis, including via pro bono hours allocated to each employee annually to use on personal projects. Efforts include organising and hosting an evening to raise funds for people displaced as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, which hit New Zealand in February 2023. The event generated US$60,000.

“We are committed to ensuring that we are a firm where people enjoy to work and we provide a first-class service to clients that helps them solve whatever is on their mind, be it raising their profile in Japan or globally, or protecting them if there is an issue,” said Hayden.